Absolutely perfect for spring or summer, these Strawberry Cupcakes are an easy, from-scratch recipe you can make for every occasion. Topped with a cream cheese frosting and real chunks of strawberries in the cake, this is one stand-out dessert.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 18 sections of a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
Place the butter and sugar into the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until combined.
Add in the eggs and extracts. Mix until well combined and scrape down the sides as needed.
Add the vegetable oil and milk, and stir well until combined.
Once mixed, add the baking powder and salt. Mix until fully incorporated.
Add the flour in ½ cup increments until all the flour is fully incorporated into the batter with no dry patches.
Pour in the chopped strawberries and fold them into the batter.
To the prepared cupcake pan, fill each liner 2/3 of the way full of batter.
Place in the oven and allow to bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Beat until smooth and creamy.
Add in the extracts and mix.
Next, add in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments until all the powdered sugar is fully incorporated. If you wish to add food coloring, add it now, and mix until the frosting is streak free.
Place the frosting into a piping bag prepared with your desired tip. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a strawberry half if desired, and serve.
Notes
This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
The cupcakes can be frozen, see my tips above on that.
Best enjoyed at room temperature.
These cupcakes need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese frosting.
Add optional food coloring to the frosting if desired, I suggest gel food color for the most vibrant colors.
You can frost these with other frostings, see my recommendations above.